Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Mueller's Russia probe: the first shoes drop

History is lived in retrospect, but reality unfolds moment by moment.

We know that former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort turned himself in to the FBI Monday is the first shoe — two shoes, as he was joined by business associate Rick Gates — to drop in the Robert Mueller III investigation of Russian influence on the 2016 campaign. For those of us who see the Trump administration as a siege of un-American values, it is an encouraging moment of hope after nine months of continual shocks, of jaw-dropping veers away from responsible leadership and good government. But we don't know if it's the beginning of the unwinding of the chaotic Trump administration. Or the beginning of further descent into lawlessness as the president pushes back with all his twittery might. He is already condemning the investigation — by a special counsel his own Justice Department appointed — as a "witch hunt," urging, with the "what-about-this?" reflex that passes for rebuttal of late, that Hillary Clinton be investigated instead. He might still simply fire Mueller, despite the Constitutional firestorm that would ignite. Charges against the two include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder millions of dollars and making false statements — charges you can watch already being shrugged off by Republicans who spent years going after will-o'-the-wisps like which email server Clinton used and whether she had broken State Department email guidelines This is the first shoe to drop, but there will be others. The way these investigations work is, the authorities begin on the outermost ring of a criminal enterprise and work themselves toward the center. The blind loyalty that Donald Trump demands from all those under him — indeed, from all Americans — is seen differently when viewed in light of a prison sentence. Think of a centipede sitting on the edge of the bed at the end of the day, taking off shoe after shoe, each one bigger than the last, each one falling with a bigger clomp.

11 comments:

while Trump may fire Mueller, i think its more likely the administration will work to discredit him . Trump in particular will portray the investigation as un-American, and try to turn things around in such a way as to make out the perpetrators as victims. we have watched this type of behavior over the last year and stood in wonder how so many people swallow that dribble and support the presidents notions, but they do. he'll call it fake news and say no you did, and his followers will believe whatever bullshit comes out of his mouth. its astonishing. thankfully political doom rarely translates to everyday doom for the average citizen. I plan to take a hike this weekend . its supposed to be lovely fall weather.

Uh Oh, Republicans are in trouble now. If they were better versed in the Liberal Arts they so despise, they would have instinctively known to beware of Greeks bearing wiretaps. At this point they would be well advised to refrain from giving statements to investigators, and wait until the New York Times publishes the transcripts so they can refresh their memories, and avoid getting caught lying.

So sad that those who've supported Trump will never change their fanaticism, be it out of stubbornness, ignorance or just plain meanness. If he's sent to prison, he will become a martyr and even grow in popularity.